SINGAPORE - A food and beverage (F&B) culture has sprung to life in Singapore's financial district recently on the back of a growing population of office workers, residents and visitors there, according to a report on Tuesday.

Dining in the central business district (CBD) could become even more popular in future, property consultancy Colliers said.

It noted that more than 10 years ago, the CBD was "often characterised as one-dimensional, with office buildings laid out side by side with its worker population plying 9 am to 5 pm work hours".

But the district has since been steadily transformed by high-rise residences, the integrated resort and other business hotels alongside gleaming new office towers, it said.

"The increased level of human activity in the CBD has led to an explosion of the F&B culture in Singapore's financial district, where all types of dining concepts and watering holes can be found catering to every price and taste."

It estimated that the working population in the downtown core area may have expanded from around 239,000 workers in 2003 to 356,000 workers in 2013 - an increase of just under 50% over the ten-year period.

City living has also grown more popular ever since the launch of the 646-unit Icon at Gopeng Street in 2003 followed by the 1,111-unit The Sail@Marina Bay in 2004, it said, noting that there are about 5,300 completed high-rise private homes in the CBD now.

"The increase in office working population during the weekdays; the live-in population of residents and business travellers staying in the 2,561-room Marina Bay Sands (MBS) and other hotels in the CBD; and the transient tourists who make their way to the attractions at MBS, the Merlion Park and Gardens by the Bay have created a critical mass where F&B trades can flourish."

The Straits Times

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